Respectfully,

Jon Bourdon
NRCS-WV State Conservationist

Grow Ohio Valley (GrowOV), a nonprofit organization that focuses on working with urban farms to build a local food system, has been awarded a grant through USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. (UAIP).

GrowOV’s Executive Director, Danny Swan, sought out the USDA grant knowing that it was a good fit for their operation. GrowOV’s 30-acre farm, coined, “Big Wheeling Agrarian Center (BWAC),” serves as an Ohio County, WV farming operation as well as a training ground for beginning farmers in the area. (Pictured: The Big Wheeling Agrarian Center).

“The big picture for us is to set up a training/incubation farm on the Big Wheeling Creek,” said Swan. “A big part of this place is to capture that loss of generational skills; to create a system of mentorship for those who have not grown up on farms with grandpa, grandma, dad, and mom teaching them how to frame up a farm. We’re teaching the practical hands-on skills that have been lost.” (pictured: Edible Mountain Park)

BWAC will be a place where first generation farmers have the support and resources needed to develop skills in agriculture. The grant will help the farm get over the initial hill of building infrastructure and paying the farmers while they get the farm fully up and running. The grant, which injects about $250,000 into the farm, will fund things like barns, tractors, and high tunnels.

“This will get us ready to be a fully-fledged incubator farm,” said Swan. “We also have this AmeriCorps program, a way to bring in apprentices and interns who can learn farming and contribute to this emerging local food system.”

The BWAC directly serves trainees in three ways: it provides land access and diverse agricultural training to aspiring farmers; it provides business guidance to farm entrepreneurs; and it provides equipment and assistance for existing local farmers. “We want to get our young farmers incubated and get their products to market. Help them build a brand, a business plan, and help young people learn what NRCS and the local conservation districts and conservation partners can provide.” said Swan. (pictured above: GrowOV's Public Market ).

Swan explains that with the USDA funding, along with assistance from some local foundations, they were able to start the whole initiative without going into debt so they can turn back more money to the people of the community. “Sometimes people just need an obstacle cleared out of the way in order to help themselves.”

“Danny and his team at Grow Ohio Valley have a lot of ambition,” said NRCS Northern Panhandle District Conservationist, Katie Fitzsimmons. “They have a passion for what they are doing for the Wheeling community, and they are proactive in seeking avenues for funding and have done a great deal of things on their own or through grants. We have worked with them in installing a high tunnel, a water well, and there are plans for installing an irrigation system.”

More About Grow Ohio Valley:

“GrowOV has recently launched a five-year strategic plan,” said Swan. “To me the biggest outcome of the strategic plan was to stop thinking of GrowOV in terms of the programs and activities that we do but more in terms of what impact we have.” The five-year consists of two parts: economic development, and public health. (pictured: GrowOV Food Market). 

The economic development side will help business succeed, provide more jobs, more resources, especially in the food sector including agriculture. The economic development side goes from seed all the way to end user. Some of GrowOV projects include a public market where farmers can sell their product. The Wheeling Food Hub (WFH) is another project which is a shared community kitchen that provides formal processing infrastructure for producers. GrowOV has the right people on hand to help with food science, labeling, and FDA clearances, the whole gamut. 

“Here in Wheeling, West Virginia, we have small business and small farms. We produce a phenomenal product that deserves to be on our grocery store shelves,” said Swan. Vincent DeGeorge, Director of Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives at GrowOV, manages the WFH project.

Swan envisions how GrowOV as a non-profit can use itself as a tool for the community where they can take the risk, make that capitol expense, use the non-profit status to find grants, and put the infrastructure in place. “All these little pieces and services are part of the dream at the WFH— efficient, cost effective, and a facility that helps removes obstacles so your dream can be realized.” (pictured: Edible Mountain Park)

The public health side involves things like school gardens, youth centers, food literacy, garden education, and food dessert resources. Their vision is to bring partners together into one coalition to focus on youth wellness. They named this coalition Edible Mountain, which is approximately a two-acre area in downtown Wheeling where they can integrate urban agriculture with youth programing.

At Edible Mountain Park there are two high tunnels used as training venues and food production for the public market. “We are right downtown,” said Swan. “We have an urban farm but we have all the country features, things you would have on a farm.” Swan says there are kids here all the time and most of the plants are planted by kids. “We are skill building and teaching kids hard core farming,” said Swan. “We are happy about that outcome. Accidental successes are more powerful than the ones you plan.” (Pictured: Inside Edible Mountain Park's Learning Center) 

Several communities in West Virginia have received funding for flood protection and water supply infrastructure projects as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These projects will help communities protect lives, property, and the watershed as a result of climate change and extreme weather events.

Watershed Rehabilitation projects in West Virginia focus on repairing existing infrastructure. The following projects were funded for planning phase work. 

• North & South Mill Creek Site 3 (Grant Co.)
• North & South Mill Creek Site 4 (Grant Co.)
• Pocatalico Site 28 (Jackson Co.)
• Brush Creek Site 12 (Mercer Co.)
• Bonds Creek Site 1 (Ritchie Co.)
• Big Ditch Site 1 (Webster Co.)

Meanwhile, Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations projects in West Virginia focus on new infrastructure. The following projects were funded for preliminary investigation and feasibility reporting (PIFR).  The PIFRs provide initial information and assist in determining if the project should advance to the planning phase.  

• Daves Fork-Christian Fork Watershed (Mercer Co.)
• Harmon Creek Watershed (Brooke Co.)
• Marlin Run Watershed (Pocahontas Co.)
• Mill Creek Watershed (Jackson Co.)
• New Creek Watershed (Grant/Mineral Cos.)
• Patterson Creek Watershed (Grant/Mineral Cos.)
• Polk Creek Watershed (Lewis Co.)
• Salem Fork Watershed (Harrison Co.)
• Saltlick Creek Watershed (Braxton Co.)
• Sleepy Creek Watershed (Berkeley/Morgan Co.)
• South Fork River Watershed (Hardy/Pendleton Cos.)
• Town of Rainelle (Meadow River Watershed, Greenbrier Co.)
• Upper Buffalo Creek Watershed (Marion Co.)
• Upper Deckers Creek Watershed (Preston Co.)
• Upper Grave Creek Watershed (Marshall Co.)
• Warm Springs Run Watershed (Morgan Co.)
• Wolf Creek Watershed (Fayette Co.)

Click here for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act News Release

The NRCS Beckley Area/Field office staff on the project were NRCS Civil Engineer, Joseph Wickline; NRCS Soil Conservationist and Acting District Conservationist, Katy McBride; NRCS Civil Engineer, Leslie Sears; NRCS Civil Engineering Technician, Rocky Wickline; and NRCS Pathways Engineer, Nikki Borglin. Cooperating partners and organizations on the project included the PCWA, RCBOE, WVDEP, WVDNR, and the Beckley Sanitary Board. Other partners and cooperating agencies included WVCA, WWHS faculty and students, the New River Master Gardeners, WVU Tech greenhouse, the Beckley Fire Department and AmeriCorps USFWS volunteers.

The construction was completed by ALLCON out of Beaver, West Virginia. Funding was funneled to PCWA through a US EPA Clean Water Act Section-319 grant. Pictured above: The pond before construction. 

Project Design Specifics

• Drain pond, remove dam, and install a water control feature to convert the pond into an occasionally flooded wetland. Seed wetland with West Virginia wetland specific seed mix.
• Connect the wetland to a downstream outlet with a new channel feature and remove old principal spillway pipes.
• Restore drainage downstream of pond to a more “natural” condition by adjusting alignment to add meandering channel. Restore above ground channel from the parking lot to the wood line by regrading a formal channel.
• Use natural stream restoration structures and techniques to assist in realignment and use for potential educational opportunities.
• Construct pollinator habitat gardens in multiple locations surrounding the project area.

After much planning, revisions, approvals, permitting, and COVID delays, the wetland and stream enhancement portion of construction was completed in July 2021. 

The Ken Ellis Memorial Park was established in 1967 and has been a staple to the community, offering a fun place for family and community alike to gather and create life-long memories. As I spoke with Joe about the park and the project, I quickly realized the rich history of the park and the potential it still holds. He spoke fondly of times he spent at the park as a child, watching his mother sing from the stage and his family gathering with other families. (pictured at left: Joe Cook's mother, Mary Ann Cook, performing at the park to raise funds for a stage).

The standing water at the park would often be in front of the stage, making it a problem over the years. It would make a muddy mess when people would gather, which is not ideal. The Park is funded primarily by community support, donations, and grants. There was just not enough funding to address this issue properly without additional help.

After meeting, Joe was able to contact the local NRCS District Conservationist, Julie Stutler. Together, we were able to work on improving the drainage at the park site. NRCS was quickly able to have an engineer onsite to inspect the park, draw up a plan, and help get things started. NRCS Civil Engineering Technician, Rodney Sites, and the South Area engineering staff provided the design assistance.

With a newly drawn engineering plan in hand, the next step would be finding the funding for the project and someone to complete it. With approval from the property owner, Amherst Coal Company, they would be able to move forward. Fortunately, in the parks favor, they were quickly able to secure a grant through TC Energy, and Dirtwork Solutions, LLC would be able to complete the work. Things rapidly turned from a casual conversation to a completed project! (pictured above: Park Chairman of the Board, Joe Cook).

There is much more to be done on site and Joe hopes to be able to complete a few more new projects for park improvement. He has had the park surveyed by the National Parks and Recreation Services out of Morgantown, through a WVU grad project. The students were able to give the park some tips for future growth and purpose. We’re looking forward to helping them with future projects as well.

As we continue our work together, you’ll be hearing more about how all of our partnerships worked together to complete this project and many others just like it. We’re proud to serve in partnership with our local NRCS personnel and join with local businesses to meet the needs of our conservation efforts across the district. Chairman Hudson often says, “many hands, make the work light.” We all happen to agree!

In Fall of 2019, Friends of the Cheat (FOC) entered into a cooperative agreement with NRCS to identify open riparian areas within the Upper Cheat, Lower Cheat, and Big Sandy Creek watersheds of the Cheat River.

The early stages of the project consisted of FOC mapping open riparian areas using ArcGIS software, then conducting on-the-ground reconnaissance to assess if sites would be viable for planting efforts.

FOC then created a scoring system for each subwatershed based on a multitude of variables, including pollutant impairment status, percent of public ownership from state or federal lands, number of tier-three trout stream miles, proximity to abandoned mine lands, and other factors.

In 2020, with help from NRCS staff, FOC created a landowner mailer, which was sent to all addresses within the priority area described above. Since 2021, FOC has completed five plantings with private landowners on the Cheat River and tributaries to Clover Run. Only native species well adapted to each specific site are used in the plantings. Plans are shared with District Conservationists who provide guidance on the project. The work is completed with a mixture of FOC staff and local volunteers.

In order to boost outreach, FOC also ran a local ad in the Parsons Advocate newspaper, which led to several new landowner contacts. FOC has eight plantings scheduled for this spring across the priority area.

The project will continue until 2024 and FOC will continue to look to partner with interested landowners, who can be directed to Madison Ball, FOC Restoration Program Manager at madison@cheat.org if interested!

The 2022 Appalachian Grazing Conference returned to Morgantown for an in-person event for the first time since 2019, with high-density grazing expert Greg Judy delivering two keynote sessions on March 11 and March 12. The second keynote session was sponsored by USDA-NRCS.

The many partners involved with the 2022 Appalachian Grazing Conference were happy to host this year’s event in person, which had been in doubt even in early 2022.

Planning committee members were very pleased that more than 250 people registered and attended this year’s conference, not including speakers and about 65 FFA students.

Judy, of Green Pastures Farm, was just one of the many great speakers this year. The AGC also was fortunate to have a wealth of knowledge from forage, soil and water resource experts from West Virginia University, as well, who spoke during the event.

Pictures on left: Greg Judy and Dr. Paul Lewis, Assistant Director of Outreach and Community Affairs for WVU Davis College,
Professor Emeritus of Animal & Nutritional Sciences, AGC planning committee member. 

NRCS State Conservationist Jon Bourdon (pictured on right) spoke on Saturday, and grazing land specialist JB Harrold from Pennsylvania and J.B. Daniel, a forage and grassland agronomist from Farmville, Va., were two program speakers from NRCS who also presented at the conference. 

The three-day conference was boosted by a Thursday afternoon farm tour in southern Harrison County, at the farms of Richard Law and Quill Ward. (pictured on left). 

West Virginia landowners are looking to hire loggers or contractors for conservation forestry work. The demand is generated through several NRCS programs that provide technical and financial assistance for landowners who want to manage their forests.

Landowners who participate in NRCS programs are encouraged to hire independent forestry contractors to help implement certain conservation practices. With financial assistance from NRCS, landowner’s out-of-pocket costs are lowered and thus they are often able to hire independent contractors. (pictured: Conservation thinning with chainsaw. The objective was to create bird habitat, specifically for cerulean warblers).

Please share with your local loggers and contractors. Interested persons should contact their local NRCS Field Office to connect with landowners in their area. For more information about NRCS forestry assistance, contact Kyle Aldinger, Forestry Point of Contact at NRCS; Christopher Evans, NRCS Forester in northern West Virginia; or Carl Gower, NRCS Forester in southern West Virginia. Click here for contact information.